Roasted Chicken with Kale and Onions

I have never been a fan of one pot meals. I actually don’t even own a crock pot. But I’m not totally against them either. My mom makes some pretty killer recipes in her crock pot and my neighbor has this ginger chicken recipe that I absolutely love so what’s my issue? I have a probably unreasonable opinion that one pot meals lack texture and usually the food all tastes the same.

I know – totally unfair (and a little judgy) and for that I apologize because I had a major ah-ha moment when I realized that my favorite roasted chicken recipe is in fact – a one pot meal.

5 amazing reasons why I love roasting a whole chicken.

It’s cheaper. Like way cheaper than just buying chicken pieces.

It’s easier than it looks.

Because cooking 2 is just as easy as cooking 1 and think of ALL the things you can do with extra chicken on hand. Whip salads, soups and tacos in very little time.

You can make your own bone broth – cook the carcass with water, chicken feet and some veg and simmer for a couple of hours and you have a flavorful, super nutritious broth to make soup with. (Saving you even more money!)

It’s pretty and I like my food to be pretty.

This recipe came to me like a lot of others – figuring out how to use up excess produce in my fridge. While it may be random I had an excess amount of kale (which I only sorta kinda like) and several onions. So I sliced up the onions, tore up the kale and then put the chicken on top.

Done and done. Almost.

Next, you create a simple spice rub out of melted butter, garlic and whatever spices that tickle your fancy that evening. One of my favorites is smoked paprika or Tony Chachere’s Cajun spice. Melt, mix and pour / run it all over your chicken.

Pop that baby in an oven heated to 425º and roast it for an hour – or 15 minutes per pound.

The bird comes out with crispy skin, loads of flavor and super juicy – and the best part, if you ask me, is the kale and onions. The juice and seasonings from the chicken flavor the veg and the onions a rich, sweet flavor to them. It’s a pretty amazing one pot meal.

Heat the oven to 425º. Mix the spices into the softened butter.Loosen the skin from the bird with your fingers and rub the butter mixture in between the skin and the chicken. Whatever is left over rub on the outside of the chicken and sprinkle with sea salt.

Place the onions into the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot (like a dutch oven). Put kale on top of the onions and then place the chicken on top of that.

Bake the chicken for about 60 minutes or 15 minutes per pound. Cook chicken to 175º degrees on a thermometer. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.